Old-School Road Trippin'

 My darling daughter decided she wanted to have her car at school

with her this year.  Fair enough, not an unreasonable request.

Only we live in Connecticut and her school is 1900 miles west of here,

in Denver, Colorado.
My immediate thought was, "Ugh.  Really?" But, really,
how could I possibly pass up a chance to drive (nearly) across the country
the Griswald family way, with my daughter a willing companion,
and see certain states I'd otherwise likely never see?

This is a lengthy post, so buckle up while we whiz through three days,
nine states, and all the sights you could ever hope to see from 

the inside of a Jeep Liberty cruising Interstates 84 and 80.

First stop:  Starbucks, Ridgefield, Connecticut.

In all due fairness, Ridgefield, CT sits on the border 

of New York, so the first border crossing

 took us only ten minutes.

Duchess County, NY

Prison, or all-girls school?

The mighty Hudson River...

...from the Newburgh Bridge.

 Hot-air balloon rising.

Making progress!

 Wake up!  You're missing the views.

I-80: otherwise known as trucking madness.

One lovely farm after another.

Note the color green; it goes missing as we move along.

 If you're a corn farmer in 2012, you want to be living in PA.

In my quest to avoid doing the fast food route on this journey,

this is the alternative.

 At about this point in the trek, it became apparent that

either the highway was a Bermuda Triangle, or else

the car was possessed.  At odd intervals there was this: dashboard 

warning lights ALL ON, speedometer and RPM needles

PLUNGE LEFT, windshield wipers ON,

IN UNISON.  Rest.  Repeat.

 With another 1600 miles yet to cover, the executive decision was

made to find a mechanic.  Brookville, PA it is.

 Two hours and 86 dollars later, lunch, and a nap in the waiting

 lounge,  we were back on our way.

The culprit: a loosened HVAC box behind the dash.  Whew!

High praise for the Brookville, PA Jeep dealership.

 Lunch option 1: sketchy bar with no windows.

Lunch option 2: Subway.  So much for the no fast food idea

(but we chose healthy items for our sandwiches).

If this woman is Amish, why the truck?  Mennonite, perhaps?

With myriad trucks and endless roadwork squishing us down to one lane,

 there was ample time to admire the abundant white puffy clouds.

Why, hello Ohio. 

 Corn's starting to lose its luster.

Somewhere in these endless farm fields we left Ohio and

entered Indiana. 

(But as we somehow missed the welcome sign when we arrived, 

I had to catch it out the back window when we exited 

the Crossroads of America state.)

Mile 748

South Bend, Indiana. We sat here for 15 minutes trying to exit the

tollway.  Not an employee to be found, and not a lane functioning. 

Long day got longer - tried to find a place to eat at 9:30PM.

Pulled in to three different restaurants that, upon our arrival, turned out
their lights and locked their doors.  We must have looked scary.

Ended up at a kooky diner called Eleni's.  It was an experience.

Not a lot to pick from, but it was a bed.

7AM start, lovely time of day to be on the road.

Glad to know all it takes is a quick phone call to find out.

 Illinois....land of water towers.

Corn's getting browner...

On the Mississippi River, lookin' over at Iowa.

 Tractor art.

Don't think I've ever seen two ladies filling a semi with a gas can before.

We got a little giddy at the sight of the Pine Cone restaurant.

(Although the display of raw meats was a little weird)

Some interesting accents in Brooklyn, Iowa.

Midwest drought in full view.

 A little creepy....what's an adult superstore, and
what's it doing in the middle of nowhere?

Can't imagine what Iowa wine would taste like.

These are not hay bales. They are bales of drought, salvaging corn stalks.

Crossing the Missouri River.

Nebraska.

This was a stunning structure.

Daily doubles in 104 degrees fahrenheit.

 The Ramada Inn, Kearney, Nebraska.

Newly "remodeled," and a little odd. 

Grandpa's Steak House, an unexpected gem!

Mile 1,159.

This is a funny statement, given the next 18 photos.

 There's no escaping the aroma of the feed lots.

Kept pace with this biking couple for a good 200 miles,
they gave us a salute as we exited in Denver.

Was able to catch up on some of my French magazines in between
tumble weed sightings.

 Well thanks for the info.

Rounding the corner to Denver.

Mile 1,865.

 Welcome to Denver!

Once you settle in with the idea that you'll be sitting
in a car for the long haul, 1900 miles becomes an enjoyable experience.
What a vast and varied country we are, we owe it to ourselves
to get out and explore the neighborhood from time to time.